A New Dawn For The Dusk

The Equestria Flag was folded respectfully and ceremoniously. The officer saluted the flag before receiving it from the NCO. It was passed to the officer and the NCO saluted the flag. Then with marching-like movements, the officer did an About Face and walked solemnly to the widow, who was holding an infant. The officer kneeled down and presented the flag to her. The woman handed her baby to her mother, seated beside her.

“Mrs. Wood, a grateful Equestria presents you with the flag your husband fought so valiantly to defend,” said the officer.

Then he displayed a medal in it’s presentation case.

“The Queen bestows, posthumously, the Equestrian Pink Heart of Courage, our nation's highest honor, for giving his life to save his entire platoon.”

She reached for the flag and medal and clutched them tightly to her chest, trying to hold back the tears.

The officer stood, saluted and marched away for the rest of the graveside service. There was a gun salute of three volleys which got the baby crying. The widow put the items in her lap and took her baby from her mother and cried with the infant. She didn’t hear much of the rest of the service.

With the service over, the widow was taken to Aria and Micro Chips’ house for a reception. There was gathered the widow’s friends and her husband’s friends as well. Twilight and Sunset Sparkle-Shimmer, Rainbow and Applejack Apple, Pinkie and Cheese Sandwich also Rarity. There were others as well, they were all at the Chip’s home because Sandal Wood had been Micro’s best friend since elementary school.

There was quiet conversation and words of comfort which the widow received with the best smile she could manage. Her child was being passed between family and friends. Aria and Micro’s daughters were being watched by Adagio for the funeral, Sonata would’ve done it but she’d had to work.

Everyone was slightly afraid of letting Pinkie and Cheese plan the reception, but it was done tastefully and respectfully.

As people ate finger foods and sipped coffee or punch, they would sit with the widow and talk quietly with her about their fond memories of Sandal Wood from high school, their wedding and other times.

The thing they most avoided is how Sandal didn’t get to meet his son. Being he’d been deployed to the war in the Arimaspi Territory just before his wife gave birth.

But soon enough, the widow said she needed some fresh air. Everybody understood that she needed to get away from this for a moment so they let her go outside and sit on the porch swing.

Sonata had got off the bus just on the next block over. Adagio and she had bought a new van, more like a RV, to replace the old piece of junk they’d lived out of for years in the past. Sonata didn’t know how to drive and didn’t care to learn. So she’d often have Aria drive her as she took the girls to school. But she took the bus because she knew that Aria and Micro had the funeral reception today.

Sonata was walking the self-same sidewalk that she and Adagio had walked when they were looking for Aria six months ago to let her know that they’d found a way for them to return to their Equestria. Now every time she’d walk this way, she always felt that it may lead to some new discovery.

As she turned the corner, she saw someone she knew sitting on Aria’s front porch swing. The person was crying hard. Instead of going home, she walked up Aria’s path, up the three steps to the porch. There she sat by the woman, put her bag of tacos down and put an arm around her and spoke softly to her.

“Oh Fluttershy, I’m so sorry,” said Sonata. “Believe it or not, I know your pain.”

“How could you know!” said Fluttershy bitterly lashing out. “All you’ve ever done was caused pain in the past!”

Sonata stifled a sob. Fluttershy couldn’t tell if it was because what or how she’d said it or something else. But she hadn’t pulled away from Sonata either.

“In… In the past, I had a husband. He perished in the Griffin War,” Sonata said, her voice starting to crack.

“The Griffin War? That was over four hundred years ago!” said Fluttershy astonished. Then she remembered that Sonata was not quite human, or at least she hadn’t been.

“I…” Fluttershy’s voice softened. “I didn’t know.”

Fluttershy took Sonata’s hand as they sat close.

“He was a handsome officer and his love kept me from having to feed off of negative emotions. I guess love really is stronger than hate.”

“What happened?” asked Fluttershy sympathetically .

Sonata was starting to cry.

“He fell in the final battle as he led the last charge against the Griffin despot, he was mortally wounded as he personally dispatched the evil tyrant.”

Sonata released Fluttershy’s hand and reached into her purse to take out of a protective pouch, a medal. It was the Equestrian Pink Heart of Courage. It was an older version of what had been presented to Fluttershy this morning. Fluttershy was quiet as she absorbed this. Then a thought hit her.

“He… He was General Silver Star?” said Fluttershy astonished. “I… I’ve seen paintings of him!”

Another memory hit Fluttershy.

“Wait! I remember the portrait that hangs in almost every school. I never realized… You’re the one they call The Blue Lady in the painting. I don’t know how I’d never recognized you before!”

“I’m sure that my sisters and I were distracting you,” said Sonata sniffling. She took a couple of napkins out of the food bag and handed one to Fluttershy and they both wiped their eyes and noses.

“Oh Sonata,” said Fluttershy, taking Sonata’s hand again, her voice had become a mixture of pain, and regret, “you really do know. I’m so sorry as well.”

The two embraced and cried hard on each other.

Aria had been at the screen door and overheard the whole thing. She didn’t know how she didn’t remember this. Aria reflected that she had always been the most apathetic to the feelings of her sister.

Sonata had been the only one of them that had ever taken a husband.

A tear rolled down her cheek. Not so much for the sorrow of the past, but she had remembered how cold she and Adagio had been to Sonata when she lost Silver Star, especially herself.

Only now did she realize the pain Sonata had suffered for centuries after, remembering how Sonata never smiled for years after that. All she and Adagio would tell her is to stop acting like that:

‘He was just a human!’

‘What horrible bitches we really were… What a horrible bitch I really was,’ thought Aria ashamedly to herself remembering that she had always been the colder of the three. ‘We never tried to understand the pain Nat went through. I don’t know how Nat never hated us for that.’

Aria went back in to the reception, hugged Mike and had a quiet cry of shame. Mike held her without asking anything, he was sure Aria would tell him later. Now, he was here for his wife, who had episodes like this in the past.

Sonata and Fluttershy got control of their crying just hugging the other.

“I have to go home and change out of my work clothes, plus give the girls the tacos I promised.” Said Sonata, then she reached into the paper bag and handed a taco to Fluttershy who smiled and gave a small chuckle at the gesture. “Would it be okay to come back over here after I do that?”

“Of course, Sonata,” said Fluttershy, her gentle voice returning, “I’d really like that.”
They gave each other a girly kiss and Sonata got up and walked off to the house next door.

Fluttershy returned to the reception.

Sonata entered her home and she was immediately set upon by two little girls who hugged her tightly.

“Auntie Nat!” they cried out.

Sonata bent over and hugged the girls warmly, she was trying to not show she’d been crying.

“Hello girls!” said Sonata.

She kissed both of them and stood up, reaching into her apron pocket, she brought out two large cookies and gave them to the girls. Then she put the bag of tacos on the table.

“Thank you auntie Nat!” they said and scurried away to the kitchen to get some milk.

Adagio was finishing a phone call. When done, she half-hardly scolded Sonata.

“You are spoiling the girls, Nat. Not only that, but you’re spoiling their dinner.”

“They are my nieces too, Dodgy,” said Sonata giggling, “and I’ll spoil them all I want.”

“Well get changed,” said Adagio, “that was Aria and she said that Fluttershy was expecting you back over there.”

“Okay Dodgy,” said Sonata giving her sister an extended hug. Then she turned and went upstairs to change.

They still had some of the sense of the sirens. With that, Adagio could detect the sadness that was in Sonata’s heart.

‘Silver Star,’ thought Adagio to herself. She was scolding herself badly. ‘Oh Nat, how blind we were, how can we ever make it up to you?’

Sonata entered Aria’s house and she was hugged by her sister. It was an extended hug and Sonata felt her sister’s regrets. Quietly she found a seat in a corner as to not interrupt the conversations that were going on. But soon, Sonata was called over by Fluttershy and motioned her to sit. Fluttershy handed her infant to Sonata. The baby was getting quite fussy. But almost like magic, the child was enraptured by the person holding him.

“He’s beautiful, Fluttershy,” said Sonata. “I’m sorry, but what’s his name?”

Fluttershy’s hand rested on Sonata’s arm as she held the child.

“His father had wanted to name a boy Pine,” said Fluttershy. “He’d always loved that name.”

“A very strong name for a very nice baby,” replied Sonata as she hugged the child and kissed his forehead, the child laughed. Fluttershy could tell that Sonata was holding back tears. “I wish I could’ve had a child. You don’t know how lucky you are.”

In the midst of this grief, Fluttershy was presented a thought that helped take a tiny bit of the sting of loss away. More than any other ‘words of comfort’ received today. She was only realizing that Sandal was still with her through their child.

Finding someone, who before now, she never thought she could have anything in common with. Now this onetime adversary had more in common with her than all her friends.

Through the rest of the reception, Fluttershy and Sonata sat together talking quietly, passing the baby when some of the friends weren’t there talking to Fluttershy. As people were starting to leave, Fluttershy looked strangely at Sonata.

“Sonata,” said Fluttershy, “this has brought back so much hurt, and I guess for both of us. Sandal left for the war almost nine months ago, and I’ve just had Pine and myself at home. Mother comes by often but dad’s health isn’t the best so she has to go home at night, leaving me alone with the baby. And my brother, though I love him, in things like this… actually in everything like this, he’s next to worthless.

I know in the past, you and I weren’t on the best terms, but from what I’ve seen with Aria and what she tells me, you aren’t the person I knew back at CHS.”

“That is so true,” said Sonata with a smile.

“You don’t have to do it if you’re uncomfortable, but would you come over for the night? After what had happened today, I really don’t want to be alone. And I think you can really understand that.”

Sonata smiled and hugged Fluttershy warmly.

“I understand,” said Sonata smiling. “I’ll have to let Dodgy know, she worries. And I don’t have to work for the next couple days.”

Fluttershy smiled and hugged Sonata again.

“Give Aria your address and Dodgy will drive me,” said Sonata.

“Are you going to be okay, Nat?” asked Adagio driving to the address Aria had relayed to her.

“Yes Dodgy, I actually think it’ll help me as much as it could Fluttershy.”

“About that,” said Adagio sadly, “Aria and I are so sorry about the way we acted in the past.”

“I know the two of you acted like that because you never really loved anyone in that way. In a way, I was sad for the two of you.”

“That doesn’t excuse us,” said Adagio.

“No, but I loved you then and still do. If you can’t forgive a sister, who can you?”

Adagio pulled into the driveway of the address she was given. She turned quickly and hugged Sonata.

“I love you Nat and so does Aria. We don’t deserve a sister like you.”

“I love the both of you as well,” said Sonata, kissing Adagio.

Sonata got out at Fluttershy’s address. It was a very nice house, just two levels but larger than her own. Sonata waved to Adagio as she drove off. She adjusted the bag on her shoulder as she walked to the front of the house, where she knocked on the door.